The prior art has been described in a wide patent literature a great part of which has been provided by the present applicant as briefly follows. This art is a well worked one and it is concerned with providing a roadway surface with traffic regulating signs, the most of which forms traffic lane dividing lines, roadable areas delimitating lines and other marks. Such sign can be formed on or applied to the road pavement in a variety of manners. For example, the marking can be painted on the pavement surface, or by applying thereto various means.
A manner of interest comprises laying on and securing to the roadway pavement a strip or tape of prefabricated material. This material advantageously preferably has reflective elements secured thereto for improving nighttime visibility and/or coarse surface forming granular or microgranular mineral substances, such as sand or crystalline particles, quartz, curundum or other for anti-skid property of the marked areas.
Another manner of interest comprises laying reflective elements for improving nighttime visibility on a painted pavement.
Among the closest prior art reference is herein made to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,536 where elongated retroreflective elements have been set forth, to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,403 wherein an advantageous vertically asymmetrical reflective element has been detailedly described, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,281 where a manner for providing a preliminarily prepared roadway pavement with retroreflective elements of the above character has been illustrated. In the various Figures of the latter reference there is indicated that and how said retroreflective elements are spacedly arranged on the road surface, and in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,403 above (FIG. 5 and following) an advantageous manner for forming and making retroreflective such elements has been set forth.
All above U.S. patents to the present applicant can be assumed to be incorporated in this disclosure and therefore other comment and further analysis of the prior is considered to be unnecessary.